As this Twins season comes to a disappointing conclusion Justin Morneau is ending his season in much the same way he has for the last five years. He seems to be lost at the plate and out in the field. I'll excuse his fielding as an aberration, but his lack of hitting as the summer comes to a close has become an unfortunate pattern. The numbers speak for themselves.
- 2005: Batted .211 after the All Star break going 52 for 247.
- 2006: The pattern breaks with Morneau slugging the Twins to a division title and he earns the American League MVP.
- 2007: In August he bats .227 going 25 for 110. He dips even lower in September hitting .215 in going 20 for 93.
- 2008: The Twins lose the division by one game and Morneau going 25 for 103 in September for a .243 average is a main reason they come up short to the White Sox.
- 2009: In August the Twins' pitching falters badly helping Morneau hide his 18 for 82 slump and .220 average for the month.
As summer ends Morneau's hitting simply collapses into the .220 range. This trend has occurred 4 of the last 5 years and has to be concerning to management. Currently he seems impatient at the plate and pressing himself to make something happen. With 28 games left in the season Morneau needs to see he still has an opportunity to end the year on a positive note and regain some self confidence by being more patient at the plate.
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